citizen consumer • marcus amaker

let’s all
try a social experiment:

write down the exact amount of money
that’s in your bank account
on a little piece of paper
& give it to the first person
you see that you don’t know.

ask your new friend
if the number
makes them think
any less of you.

ask them
why the numbers we carry
always feel too heavy,
& the ones we don’t
carry just as much weight.

remind them
that thriving in every part of your life
except your bank account
doesn’t mean that you are a failure,

it just means that
you’re living in a world
that sends you an invoice
simply for existing;

that keeps
telling you
to “upgrade to pro”
everywhere you go.

remind them
that being able

to pay your rent
 when it’s due,

your water bill 
when it’s due,

your phone bill 
when it’s due,

your power bill
when it’s due,

your subscription fees
 when they are due

can be hard to manage
when the cost of being alive
keeps moving
but the paycheck
is fixed.

when the system
is not improving
and the late fees
are quick.

remind them
that there’s a
bill  around the corner,
so subtract it
from the sum.

along with the
overdraft
that’s poking holes
in your income.

tell them
there isn’t enough  willpower
in  the world 
to self-regulate

when you are
constantly
reminded of
what you don’t have.

when you look around
and there’s so many
things collecting
dust on the shelf.

because the anticipation
for the gift
was better
than the gift
Itself.

we’ll never “upgrade”
any human experience
by paying a small monthly fee.

& we shouldn’t
have to live this way,

pretending
we’re free.

let’s all try
a social experiment!

write “i love you”
on a piece of paper
and put it in your pocket.

don’t give it
to anyone.

take it
with you
wherever you go.

thank yourself
for surviving.